redskeltonfandomcom-20200215-history
Timeline
1912 (and before) It is said that Red's father Joseph was a famous circus clown that died from drinking. I have not been able to prove this. I have heard of a story that his father was a lawyer but quit when he found out that he got a murder off. I have not found any record of this. What makes finding the history of Joseph Skelton hard is that he also went by another name. For a time Joseph was living in Vincennes he went by the name of Ehart or Eheart. Putting records together I have found that baby was born to Ella Richardville on September 14, 1878 north of Princeton, IN. Ella Richardville claims that this was the child of Newton O. Skelton. Newton Skelton was a respected businessman in Princeton and married at the time. There are court cases of Skelton vs. Richardville and the jury found in favor of Skelton. Newton Skelton died January 29, 1880. His estate records do not include Ella or her child. I have not been able to find records of Joseph's past. There are records of Joseph Elmer Skelton listing Ella Richardville as his mother. The next record of Joseph that I found is in the 1904-05 directory. He was working as a telephone lineman. He later became grocer with his brother Chris Ehart. Joseph was using the name Ehart as his last name in the directories. It is possible that Joseph became part of the Ehart family taking the name of his stepfather and Chris being his half-brother. When he married Ida May Fields April 13th, 1905, he used the last name of Skelton. Ida Mae was born in Harvard, Nebraska April 26, 1884. Don't know her past or how she met Joseph. In September of 1905 they had a son, Joseph Ishmail. I believe that he was also called Denny. January 20th, 1906 there is a record of Joseph and Ida having a Catholic marriage so that Ishmail could be baptized. The Eharts would have two other sons before Red, Chris (1907) and Paul F. (1910). The story of Red Skelton's father is that he was a clown for H-B. That he died from drinking or from a circus tent pole falling on him. No of these things are mentioned in the obits in the Vincennes newspapers. The press prints that he died from problems from a stroke. He was a member of local lodges and a part-time baseball umpire. He had a grocery store with his brother Chris. (I would love to find proof of him being a clown but I believe that this is a myth.) 1913-1922 Three months after Joseph's death, July 18th, 1913, Richard Bernard Eheart was born at 1:15pm in the home at 111 Lyndale ave. The family was not at this house for long. In the 1914-15 directory, Ida was listed at another address and Chris Eheart was at 111 Lyndale ave. Red's family moved around Vincennes. Red tells stories that his family was poor. One story is that he was sleeping in the family store. One day it caught on fire and Red nearly escaped. I did find records that Joseph's property was being sold off to pay bills. For a time (1917?) the family moved to Indianapolis. Ida had a job as a elevator operator and cleaner. The family returned to Vincennes under the name of Skelton. Red was old enough to do work and bring money to the family. A chance meeting while he was a newspaper boy changed his life. This also could be another Skelton myth. 1923-1931 At the age of 10, Red was selling newspaper a stranger asks what to do in town. Red told him that a great comic was at the Pantheon Theatre. The stranger asks if he had seen the show. Red told him that he needed to sell all his papers. The stranger bought all the papers and told Red that there would be a ticket for him. Red found out that the stranger was the comic. The comic was Ed Wynn a Ziegfeld star comic known for a silly voice, laugh and props. He had Broadway shows. One show was called "The Perfect Fool". This is great tail but unlikely to happen. The only chance I see of Red meeting him is if the show went on tour. Still, this is the story Red tells when he knew that he wanted to be in show business. During the summer he toured with a medicine show. Here he found out that he could make people laugh by falling down. This drew a crowd for "Doc" Lewis to sell his "Famous Miracle Remedy". Later he joined a stock company. This did not work out because he was cast in dramatic roles. The stock company dumped him on the Mississippi River. Here the water gets murky. Red ends up on a showboat called The Cotton Blossom but is kicked of for romancing the captain’s daughter. Then he did some "Uncle Tom's Cabin" shows. Finding time to appear as a clown for the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus and maybe vaudeville. This seems to be a lot of work for a 15 year old. In 1929 he returned to Vincennes and appeared in Clarence Stout's Minstrel shows. Clarence Stout was a songwriter and became a mentor to Red. Red gives him credit on teaching him how to perform. Red kept in touch with the Stout family through out his career. Vincennes University library has a collection of letters and programs. If there was no proof that Red was in Vincennes in 1929, it would be easier to have a transition to Kansas City. 1931-1936 1930 Red Skelton was a comic at Kansas City's Gaiety Burlesque Theater. He meets Edna Stillwell, an usher at the Pantage Theater. Edna was not impressed with the fast-talking, fall down comic. But Red wasted no time to get a job at Pantage to be near her. 1931 the Depression was going on. One way for people to get money was to win in Walkathon contest. They were dance contests were you had to be the last person on your feet to win. Red was a MC for an event at the same time Edna was a contestant. He managed to get her to agree to a date after the event. She won the contest and they had a romantic kiss. While Edna had a time to catch up on her sleep, her prize money was stolen. Red was there to cheer her up. They started dating and got married on June 1st, 1931. Red was one month away from his 18th birthday and Edna was 16. Edna was young but she had the gift of management. She was able to be the cashier at Red's Walkathons and able to controlled his pay for each event. The Skelton's headed east doing Walkathons in St. Louis, Minneapolis, to Atlantic City, New Jersey. A New York booking agent got him out of Walkathons and back to vaudeville in 1934. He was sent to the Lido Club in Montreal, Canada. Her Harry Anger saw Red and signed him to play at Loew's theaters in Canada. Here he changed his style of comedy with Edna's help. Skelton was using corny gags and falling down but that was getting old. Edna became part of the act both on stage and back. She was billed as his sister because Red's good looks attracted the female. Also Edna was used in "leg ads" to attract the males. On stage Edna started as a stooge. She later became a partner. Off stage, she became active in writing for Red. She has been credited for inspiring Red's talent on spoofing human behavior. The classic "Dunking Doughnuts" came from watching how people dunked their doughnuts. Red was ready to become a hit in America. 1937-1944 1938 1939 1940 1941 MGM put Red as the comic relief in THE PEOPLE VS. DR. KILDARE and DR. KILDARE'S WEDDING DAY. In the Kildare film, he was a bit of a clumsy orderly. Not much action in the first film. There a bit with luggage and a telephone booth in the second. WHISTLING IN THE DARK was Skelton's first major starring role. He played a detective a radio show call the Fox. He claimed that he could think of the perfect crime. A fake cult leader kidnaps The Fox's girl friend and the sponsor's daughter to forces the Fox to think up a way to kill someone so that the cult can inherit money. Red is great in this film. It is right blend of verbal and physical comedy. There are moments where is brave and he has quick wit. He has to use a bit of both to get himself out of the jam. MGM had the right type of character for Red but still used him as the best friend nice guy looser in other films. LADY BE GOOD is one of those films were Red gets lost with behind his other co-stars. This is film about songwriters and Skelton plays the friend song plugger. He has one bit about car running boards and that is just about it. This is an key point to the film. He is beginning to be teamed up with fellow contract players that he will work with in the future. Warning: After seeing this film, the song "Lady Be Good" will be with in your head forever. Near the end of the year, Red started his friendship with Gene Fowler. Gene Fowler was a reporter, screenwrtier and biographer to the stars. He was friends to John Barrymore and W.C. Fields. Red had many meetings with Gene hoping that Fowler would write a biography. At the time Fowler did not feel that Red had lived long enough for a bio. They did developed a father-son relationship. Gene Fowler's name was mentioned many time on Red's radio show. Red started is radio show on NBC. It is odd that a visual comic becoming a hit on radio. Red was able to express is comedy by his voice. He became many characters on the show. Clem the fellow from the country, Deadeye western badman that latter became sheriff, Willie Lump Lump always of the wagon, C McPugg the punch-drunk fighter and Junior the mean widdle kid. Skelton became popular with his character voices and catch phrases. One catch phrase helped build up morale during World War II. 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 Last season on CBS. Season 20 on NBC. Last television series. Makes some guest shots on TV special. Goes on tour and Las Vegas. 1971 1972-1976 1977-1986 1987-1996 1997-2005 2006-2010 : 1923 :(05/01) School District 2. School Recores RHC#370 Red Skelton Papers, Vincennes University. Met Ed Wynn. (07/13) 'Doc' Reynolds E. Lewis's "Famous Miracle Remedy" Patent Medicine show. Show tour in Flora, IL. (Cast: Nina Lewis, Red MacLeonard, Smoky, Barbara (Smoky's wife).) Williams' Tent Show. Clark Junior High School. - Ed Wynn "The Grab Bag".---- 1924 (05/01) School District 7. School Records RHC#370 Red Skelton Papers, Vincennes University. Home: 34 E. Lyndale.---- 1926 Home: 1021 N. 9th St. Member of 1st school safety patrol. Jr. High School on Buntin St.---- 1927 John Lawrence Stock Co. Captain Hittner Showboat "The Cotton Blossom". Put to shore at Natchez, MI. The story is that the captain did not approve of Red's relationship with his daughter, Samantha.---- 1928 "Uncle Tom's Cabin" plays. Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus Vaudeville.---- 1929 (04/18) Young Men's Christian Association circus. Clarence Stout Minstrels. (05/13-14) "Minstrel-Revue". (06/29) American Legion program. WGBF radio Evansville, IN. Sang "There's a Rainbow Around My Shoulder". (11/25) "Minstrel Follies". (12/13) "Midnight Frolic"---- 1930 Gaiety Burlesque Theater in Kansas City. Pantages Theater. Met Edna Marie Stillwell. El Torreon ballroom walkathon run by Tebetts and Seltzer.---- 1931 :Gayety becomes burlesque. (06/01) Wed Edna. Minneapolis, Minn. walkathon. Bought a pet white bear called "Snowball". "The Clown Prince of Walkathons". Atlantic City Walkathon.---- 1932 New York screen test. (08/19) Walkathons (Minneapolis). Sponsored: St. Peter Hospital for the Mentally Deficient. (08/19/1932) "Meet the Masters of Ceremonies!" Nicollet Live Wire Souenir Walkathon Edition (Minneapolis, MN)---- 1933 Camden, NJ.---- 1934 Left Walkathons got a booking agent, Tom Kennedy in New York. Screentest RKO's Astoria, NY Vitaphone. Lido club managed by Eve Ross. Loew's Montreal Theater. Began 'Dunking Doughnuts'. Shea's Theater, Toronto. Booked by Harry Anger. State Theater and Stratford, Chicago.---- 1935 ;(1930s) [http://www.idoodit.com/Bib.html#1930sWalkathon Edna Stadler Dance Marathons and Walkathons Scrapbook.] Walkathon wedding of Johnny Groves and Marie Broughton, Camden, NJ.1936 (12/12) Walkathon, Camden, NJ.---- (11/20) Lyric Theatre, Indianapolis, IN. (one week) New York. Used Enda in "leg art" ads 1937(05/28) Letter from Edna Skelton Clarence Stout Papers. (06/10) Lowe's State. (06/18) Riverside Theatre, Milwaukee. (06/24) Lyric Theatre, Indianapolis, IN. (summer) Letter from Edna Skelton Clarence Stout Papers. Fox, Detroit. Lowe's, DC. (08/12) Lowe's State. (08/12) THE FLEISCHMAN HOUR (Rudy Vallee Show) 'Guest' This appearance started Red career on the radio. (08/19) Hippodrome Theatre, Baltimore. RKO signing for HAVING WONDERFUL TIME. (08/26) THE FLEISCHMAN HOUR. 2nd radio appearance. (09/05) Palace Theatre, Cleveland, OH. Wrote a letter to Mrs. Edna Allen Pierce, NJ. (Sept) 6 week shooting of HAVING WONDERFUL TIME. (11/12) Red Skelton Day, Vincennes. (11/21) Vacation in Mexico. :Agent Freeman Keyes. (12/03) Earle Theatre (Philadelphia). 1938 (11/08) Roxy Theatre (NY). Category:Timeline